125 Gallon Walkaround

[ATP123]

A little history... (2nd post will be the tank currently)

Last spring, I bought a 125 gallon tank on craigslist with everything including livestock. It had 4 110 watts VHO, 2 175 watts metal halides, Kent Marine nautilus skimmer, 75 gallon tank as a sump, 1100 GPH return pump, stand, and canopy

For live stock, it had around 120 lb. or LR, live sand, Naso tang, 5 damsels, 2 watchman gobbies, 2 firefish, 1 clown. For corals it had a green toadstool, 2 other toadstools, finger coral, buttons, frogspawn,brain coral, and a dew others I can't remember.

Well it so cheap I called the guy and bought it. Well..... you get what you paid for lol.

 

[ATP123]

After a few months, I can't stand it any more. The stand and canopy looked so bad we decided to make a new one. While moving the tank, we removed all the algae from the rocks, equipment and basicly removed all of the algae that I can. (took us over 6 hours just removing the algae). We upgraded our equipments to:75 gallon tank turns to a proper sump/ refugim, ASM 400 plus, 2 250 watts 12k metal halides, 4 110 watts actinic VHO, 1 Vortech MP40, 1 Koralia (forgot which one)

After a about a month the algae is gone with additional help from turbo snails, yellow tang, foxface rabbitfish. (the naso died a few months back) The yellow tang only eats the short GHA so I had to remove the long ones.

I all so started SPS a few months back and it looks great

Current Livestock: 1-Blue milipora frag, 1-sunset milipora (was a frag from one of BR display), 1-green acropora with blue tips colony, 5 orange digita frags (accidentally broke them from the colony 5x lol), 1 orange digita colony, 1 green acro frag, 1 german green acro frag, 1 blue stag frag, 1 light blue stag colony, 1 cali. tort frag, 1 tri color frag (I think), 2 pink mili frag, 1 superman monti frag, 1 purple valida frag, 1 Joe the coral mini colony, 1 pink birdsnest mini colony, 2 purple rim monti cap, 1 orange monti cap, 1 red monti cap. 1 brain coral, 1 tongue coral, mushrooms, xenia, sponge, zoa, bubble coral, finger coral, there's a few others I can't remember their names

So the tank has been set up for about two years, but I've had it only for 7 moths.

 

[ATP123]

some more

 

[Chichas01]

Looks great. What is that in the 4th pic, first post? One of the mille's?

 

[Myteemouse]

appears to be a sunset milli.

 

[ATP123]

Looks great. What is that in the 4th pic, first post? One of the mille's?

It's a sunset milipora. I got is at barrier reef sale last spring.

 

[trido]

Nice variety of corals. Should look amazing one it starts to grow in.

 

[Saltyfish]

I love the walk around.

 

[ATP123]

125 disassemble

thanks for the comments

___

We removed all of the corals, LR, fish, clean up crew and the tank looked really dirty. We were thinking of washing it, but we only had 4 people with only our hands so we decided not to.


walk around overflow with sand. (we washed the sand with saltwater before assembling it again.



We had over 10 buckets of LR (only 9 shown), 75 gallon tank full of LR, and a 65 gallon tank with the corals and fish.




It took us from 6 in the morning to 4 in the morning the next day to disassemble and reassemble it back because we had to remove the algae

 

[ATP123]

The new DIY stand build from pine as the skeleton and solid poplar as the skin. Cost us about $800-$900.

We assembled the lights. 2x 250 watts 12K reeflux halides with lumenarc mini pendants and 2x110 watts super actinic, 2x 110 watts actinic white

Wiring. We run an extension cord that we made under the carpet to the power outlet. The extension cord than connects to a Belkin metal power outlet and than there's two more power outlet that's connected to the belkin power outlet. The wiring from the lights is inserted to a PVC pipe that goes through the overflow.

Plumbing. My overflow has two PVC pipes that has a buoyant things. The two PVC's goes down and then both of them is connected to one pvc going into a filter sock into a section behind the skimmer.

 

[menace78]

The wiring from the lights is inserted to a PVC pipe that goes through the overflow.

I love this Idea, but what hapends if for some reason you'r Overflow get's a little clogged or something and the water level in the overflow rises? wouldn't the PVC pipe you have the wires running threw that's shorter than the tank level become another standpipe with a perfect shot to all you'r electrical parts?

I would have that PVC pipe higher than the top of the tank. water overflowing the sides is alot different than water draining right down a wireing loom.

And love the tank. I wish I would have done something like that to the 135g tank i recently sold.

 

[ATP123]

That's true. I should of thought about that, but the PVC pipe is a little bit more than 3/4 the way to water level. My refugim and skimmer has the same level, but my return section is lower and pretty small so there's not enough water to make the water higher than the PVC because only the section of my return pump will turn dry and the refugim and skimmer level will be the same since no water is being added to fill the third area (unless it leaks). I should extend it though.

 

[ATP123]

The right side of my tank showing you that it's walkaround

The other side of my tank

The backside of my tank

 

[Ilovereef]

Very Cool and good looking tank. Keep up the good work and posting your progress

 

[ATP123]

Very Cool and good looking tank. Keep up the good work and posting your progress

thanks thang. Hope mine grows as nice as yours

 

[ATP123]

Anyone knows what these are?

The thing in the 2nd pic pop up a week ago. While I was walking by my tank I saw that thing and at first I thought it was aiptasia, but it has a skeleton instead of a stem and it doesn't look like on when you look at it closely.

I all so have this thing I forgot what it's called.

 

[Workaholic]

The second pic to me I want to say is a baby rhizo but honestly its quite hard to tell with how small it is. I would let it grow out and find out what it is.

Tom

 

[ATP123]

I'll let it grow. It actually kind of like it.

 

[Myteemouse]

first pic is a blue ridge coral
second pic I'm thinking ?!?!?
Third ??????

 

[ATP123]

Thanks for the help

Some of my fishes

Pair of clowns

Yellow tang

Foxface